Q: I’m a 56-year-old divorced guy who has never worn a ring in his life (not even a wedding band when I was married). Recently, I found a ring that looks great: a simple platinum band with a slit cut into it. At one end of the slit is a small rectangular diamond. Very masculine, classy, and simple. My question is, which finger/hand should I wear it on?

A: I think rings work best on the fourth finger, the ring finger. Wearing a ring on the middle finger gives one a kind of “brass knuckles” look. Pinkie rings look effete in a thuggish way. The ring you describe sounds like a modern wedding band. And wearing a ring like that on your right hand might make it appear that you’re a married man who’s taking a short break. So be warned: There are bound to be sociological signals associated with this purchase. As for the rock, I think a man should rely on diamonds only for his phonograph stylus, but I’m swimming upstream on this matter. Millionaire he-man athletes are going around bejeweled like Liz Taylor. Anyway, if you’re going to do diamonds, the more discreet the better.

January 2006

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